Coastal Point • Laura Walter: Sinkholes, suchas this one east of Railroad Avenue, are causing Selbyville officials to search for answers.No one quite knows the extent of damage in Selbyville’s newest sinkhole. Blocked off by orange tape, the hole — measuring at least) 3 feet by 5 feet — was discovered in early October. It’s just east of Railroad Avenue, between the road and the Mountaire-side railroad tracks.

Selbyville’s engineers need to figure out exactly sure what the issue is. This new hole is located above three underground pipes serving the Sandy Branch tax ditch. So the pipes could be caving in, or the soil could just be washing away between intact pipes.

“It is within the railroad’s right-of-way. We do know that,” said Town Administrator Stacey Long.

That could be a big problem if the Maryland & Delaware Railroad tracks suffer any structural instability there. Selbyville has notified the railroad but haven’t gotten a response since then, Long said.

It’s one of the biggest, spookiest celebrations in southeast Sussex County: The Selbyville Halloween Parade will return on Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. The Fenwick Island Lions Club and the Town of Selbyville sponsor the event, which is more than 60 years old.

Selbyville police officers sat down to discuss local issues with residents for National Coffee with a Cop Day on Oct. 7. The Selbyville Public Library hosted the event to help bring the citizens and law enforcement together.

Four Town of Selbyville employees were among the first on the scene of a West Church Street house fire on Wednesday, Sept. 20.

The call came in just after 9 a.m. Police Chief Scott Collins and Cpl. John Bunting were on duty, as were Town staff members Kevin Murray and George Hudson. They ran over and found resident Delbert Baker already on the scene.

Some cellphones in the area may be getting a boost. The Mobilitie communications company has requested permission from the Selbyville Town Council to construct a utility pole on Dukes Street Extended. When wireless networks are overwhelmed, the network would fall back to rely on the signal repeater, or booster, located on the pole.

The Selbyville Public Library has been ahead of the game by inviting local police to come speak with their community. Their next public “Coffee with a Cop” event will be Friday, Oct. 7, at 5 p.m. in the Selbyville Public Library meeting room.

This time, it’s part of a larger effort and the first National Coffee with a Cop Day.

After attracting millions of dollars in government funding to clean up their water, the Town of Selbyville has qualms about letting Mountaire dig a new stormwater system between the Town’s two primary water supplies.

The Selbyville Volunteer Fire Company announced this week that it will be holding its 9th Annual Golf Tournament at the Cripple Creek Golf & Country Club in Dagsboro on Friday, Oct. 14, with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. The tournament is a fundraiser to help defray the increased operational costs of the fire department.

Forge Youth & Family Academy is bringing in Christian rapper B-SHOC for a free show at the Selbyville Fire Hall on Monday, Sept. 5. The Selbyville-based ecumenical family ministry hopes to send area students back to school with a boost of energy and a renewed attitude, according to Forge leader Rob Shrieves.

As troublesome as Selbyville’s water problems have been, the Town has landed in a safety net of state and federal funding. The Town recently earned a $500,000 emergency grant toward its new water plant.

Between the USDA Rural Development grant and a previous state Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program, Selbyville will get more than $3 million in free money toward the new plant.

Some Selbyville residents are concerned about increased crime and suspicious figures on the western side of town. At the July 11 town council meeting, two residents from Hosier Street Ext. described suspected criminal activity on the street, which leads into Maryland, including stolen medications, drug overdoses and a high-speed police chase.

Coastal Point • Tyler Valliant Eric and Cherith Snyder of SOUL Ministries stand inside the newly opened House of Mercy. HOM currently serves as a thrift store to help fund homeless outreach efforts, with the hopes of renovating the rest of the building to serve as a community center.“Welcome HOM,” said a smiling Cherith Snyder to a family walking through the doors of the recently opened House of Mercy (HOM).

House of Mercy, a thrift shop, is the latest effort of Serving Others Under the Lord (SOUL) Ministries, an outreach ministry for those who are homeless or in need. Created in November 2013, SOUL has been out serving and providing necessities to the homeless, with the hope to one day open a year-round community center to be the heart of House of Mercy.

After less than three years in existence, SOUL now is one step closer to realizing their goal, after finding a 6,400-square-foot property to rent. On June 18, they opened their doors to the first phase of House of Mercy — the thrift store.

A celebration of community, cars and kids

Once upon a time, Selbyville had dirt roads, a booming railroad and the title of “Strawberry Capital of the World.”

While those things have changed, the town still celebrates its heritage at the annual Old Timer’s Day, which will be held this year on Saturday, June 18, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., hosted by the Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce and the Town of Selbyville.

Selbyville is building a new water-treatment system to help remove chemicals from town water. But until the plant is completed in April of 2017, the Town risks water quality violations, such as the one they just received from the Division of Public Health.

Tests at 73 Main Street have shown Selbyville’s water had elevated levels of total trihalomethanes (TTHMs), a disinfection byproduct.

Coastal Point • Laura Walter Mike and Meagan Sekscinski, with baby Addison, pick strawberries at Magee Farms on Saturday, June 4.In 1865, the Civil War was coming to an end. Motorized cars wouldn’t be common in Sussex County for nearly a century. And the Magee family legacy was just beginning, with the purchase of 38 acres in Williamsville.

Standing at the June 4 celebration with his wife, Ellen, two sisters, and his sons and their wives, Danny Magee thanked the community in which he’s farmed his whole life. He learned to drive a tractor the day his feet could reach the pedals, he said.

Some things haven’t changed. (“My grandfather grew strawberries. My father grew strawberries,” he said.) But technology has made a huge impact on this fifth-generation farm.

The Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce announced this week that Selbyville’s 59th Annual Old Timer’s Day, presented by Bunting & Murray Construction, will again include a classic car, truck, tractor and military and emergency vehicle show when it returns on June 18 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Church Street in Selbyville.

The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) invites the public to attend a public workshop to receive information about the Final Design for various proposed lighting, striping, and pedestrian improvements on Route 54 in Fenwick Island.

It’s here! The unofficial start of the summer season at the Delaware shore has arrived with Memorial Day weekend, and it’s a time of transition for the area, as the relatively quiet second season of spring sprouts into the hustle and bustle that is the resort area’s high season.

Austin Roadarmel of Selbyville was recently initiated into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Roadarmel is pursuing a degree in biological science at the University of Delaware.

Coastal Point • Kerin Magill: Corey Dietrich poses in his classroom at Phillip C. Showell Elementary School in Selbyville. Dietrich was named 2015/2016 Teacher of the Year at the school.Corey Dietrich went to Penn State University to study criminal justice.

During the summer of his freshman year, though, his career path took a bit of a turn.

Like many college students, Dietrich took a job at a summer camp, where he worked for his former high school wrestling coach. There, he discovered that he really enjoyed working with children — and his wrestling coach recognized that Dietrich was good at it.

“He was looking at me like, ‘Why are you studying that?’” Dietrich said of his coach’s thoughts on his original major. Dietrich, too, saw that he needed to change his major.

Now 15 years into his teaching career, Dietrich was named Teacher of the Year at Phillip Showell Elementary School in Selbyville last month.

Coastal Point • Kerin Magill: Warren Harding Mumford celebrated his 95th birthday at Doyle’s Restaurant in Selbyville with state Rep. Ronald Gray. Mumford was presented a proclamation from the House of Representatives honoring him.On the occasion of Warren Harding Mumford’s 95th birthday, the lifelong Bishopville, Md., resident had some stories to tell.

Stories about making the famous “World’s Largest Fry Pan” with his brother Charlie. Stories about serving in the Army during World War II. And stories about dumplings.

Mumford, who was born May 20, 1921, was the guest of honor on Friday, May 20, as family and friends gathered at Doyle’s Restaurant in Selbyville to celebrate his birthday. State Rep. Ronald Gray made an appearance to present Mumford with a proclamation from the state House of Representatives honoring him.
Gray is actually related to Mumford and grew up sharing holidays and special occasions with Mumford and his family. “I don’t know how many oysters we opened at their house,” Gray said. Gray’s mother, Anna Lee Gray, and Mumford’s wife, Agnes, were first cousins.

The Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce announced this week that Selbyville’s 59th Annual Old Timer’s Day, presented by Bunting & Murray Construction, will again include a classic car, truck, tractor and military and emergency vehicle show when it returns on June 18 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Church Street in Selbyville.

Cheryl Carey of Phillip C. Showell Elementary School in Selbyville has been named the 2016 Delaware School Counselor of the Year.
The award was given in March by the Delaware School Counselor Association. Prior to winning the overall state award, Carey was named Elementary School Counselor of the Year in February by the DSCA.

Coastal Point • Shaun M. Lambert: Mary A.H. Mumford is flanked by her daughter, Marianna O’Neal, left, and fellow choir member Susan Bunting. Mumford was recently honored for her 67 years singing in the Salem United Methodist Church choir.

A young newlywed among an aging choir, Mary A. H. Mumford was 18 she when she joined her in-laws’ church choir. Decades later, Mumford was recently honored for 67 years of dedication to the Salem United Methodist Church music program.

The Selbyville Town Council met April 4 to discuss a number of items, starting with water.

Hydrant flushing is scheduled for April 18 to 22. Residents may notice a discoloration in the water as mineral deposits are shaken out of the town pipes. They may wish to avoid doing laundry during this period, but officials noted that Iron Out can help remove any orange stains from laundry.